JP2020191261A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a connector which can lighten a burden on an operator through the reduction of releasing force in unlocking.SOLUTION: A female housing 20 has a lock mechanism 30 which is provided on a housing body 22 and locks a protrusion part 73 formed at a connection part 71 of a male housing 70 by engaging therewith. The lock mechanism 30 comprises: a lock arm 31 provided with a cantilevered elastic arm part 32 which extends from an outer surface of the housing body 22 to a side fitted to the connection part 71, and which has, on its end, a lock part 36 to be locked to and unlocked from the protrusion part 73; and a release arm 38 which has a support arm part 33 provided continuously with the elastic arm part 32 and extending to a side opposite to the side fitted to the connection part 71, and in which an end of the support arm part 33 serves as an operation part 34. At facing positions of the connection part 71 and the support arm part 33 which face each other when the female housing 20 is fitted to the male housing 70, there are formed fulcrum protrusions 37, 75.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a connector.

The housing fitted to the mating housing has a locking mechanism for locking the locking protrusion of the mating housing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

This locking mechanism includes a pair of arm portions extending in the mating direction with the mating housing, and a locking portion provided so as to bridge the tips of the pair of arm portions and locked to the locking protrusion of the mating housing. , An arm part for unlocking extending from the lock part side in the direction opposite to the extending direction of the arm part, and an arm part for unlocking are provided at the end of the arm part for unlocking and pressed by an operator when releasing the lock. It has an unlocking operation unit that is a part to be operated.

JP-A-2017-191746

With the above connector, when unlocking with the housing on the other side, the operator pushes down the unlocking operation part of the unlocking arm part with a finger to lock the lock part to the lock protrusion. It will be released. For this reason, in particular, when unlocking a plurality of connectors, a great burden is placed on the fingers of the operator.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of reducing the release force at the time of unlocking and reducing the burden on the operator. ..

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the connector according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (3).
(1) A connector comprising a first housing having a housing body and a second housing having a connection portion fitted with the housing body of the first housing.
The first housing has a lock mechanism provided on the housing body and locks and locks a protrusion formed on the connection portion of the second housing.
The lock mechanism is
A lock arm having a cantilever-shaped elastic arm portion extending from the outer surface of the housing body to the fitting side with the connecting portion and having a locking portion engaged with and disengaged from the protrusion at the end.
A release arm that has a support arm portion that is connected to the elastic arm portion and extends to the side opposite to the fitting side with the connection portion, and the end portion of the support arm portion is an operation portion.
With
With the first housing and the second housing fitted to each other, fulcrum protrusions are formed on at least one of the connecting portions and the support arm portions facing each other.
A connector that features that.

(2) The operating portion has an inclined surface that inclines upward toward the rear end.
The connector according to (1).

(3) The inclined surface of the operating portion and the surface of the supporting arm portion are formed in an arc shape that smoothly connects.
The connector according to (2).

According to the connector having the configuration of (1) above, when the operation portion provided on the support arm portion of the release arm is pushed down while the first housing and the second housing are fitted to each other, the support arm portion becomes a fulcrum. It swings around the contact point of the protrusion as a fulcrum. For example, when the fulcrum protrusions are formed on both the connecting portion and the support arm portion, the contact points between these fulcrum protrusions serve as fulcrums. When the fulcrum protrusion is formed on either the connection portion or the support arm portion, the contact portion between the fulcrum protrusion and the support arm portion or the contact portion between the fulcrum protrusion and the connection portion serves as a fulcrum.
Since this fulcrum is provided at a position opposite to the connection portion of the second housing and the support arm portion, for example, a fulcrum protrusion capable of contacting the housing body is provided on the support arm portion to serve as a fulcrum at the contact point with the housing body. In comparison with the case where, the distance from the operation unit, which is the point of action, to the fulcrum can be lengthened to increase the moment of force. Therefore, it is possible to enhance the effect of reducing the pressing force on the operating portion, which is required for swinging the support arm portion. This makes it possible to reduce the burden on the fingers of the operator who unlocks the plurality of connectors. Further, for example, the fulcrum can be provided without being restricted because there is a portion such as a seal holding portion for holding the seal member.

According to the connector having the configuration of (2) above, since the operation unit has an inclined surface that inclines upward toward the rear end, when the operation unit is pressed by a finger, the force from the finger is applied to the inclined surface. It can be received without waste, and the force from the finger can be smoothly transmitted to the support arm.

According to the connector having the configuration of (3) above, the inclined surface of the operation portion and the surface of the support arm portion are formed in an arc shape that smoothly curves, so that the irritation to the finger pressing the operation portion is further suppressed. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to suppress finger pain that occurs when the detachment work is repeated.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector capable of reducing the release force at the time of unlocking and reducing the burden on the operator.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the embodiments for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the accompanying drawings. ..

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a female housing and a male housing constituting the connector according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector according to the present embodiment along the vertical direction. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the male housing. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the upper part of the connection portion of the male housing. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the female housing. FIG. 6 is a front view of the female housing. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the female housing. 8A and 8B are views showing a locking mechanism, FIG. 8A is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 7, and FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the movement of the locking mechanism during the detachment operation between the male housing and the female housing, and FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b) are views of fitting portions of the male housing and the female housing. It is sectional drawing corresponding to the BB cross section of 7. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the BB cross section of FIG. 7 of the female housing according to the reference example. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing connectors according to modified examples, respectively, and FIGS. 11A and 11B correspond to BB cross sections of FIG. 7 at fitting locations of the male housing and the female housing. It is a sectional view.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the respective figures.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a female housing 20 and a male housing 70 constituting the connector 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector 10 according to the present embodiment along the vertical direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 10 according to this embodiment includes a female housing (first housing) 20 and a male housing (second housing) 70.

The female housing 20 has a housing body 22 on which the hood portion 21 is formed, and the male housing 70 has a connecting portion 71. The female housing 20 and the male housing 70 are joined to each other by fitting the hood portion 21 of the housing body 22 of the female housing 20 and the connecting portion 71 of the male housing 70.

The female housing 20 is formed of synthetic resin, and the hood portion 21 of the housing body 22 is formed in a tubular shape. A fitting portion 23 is projected from the inside of the housing main body 22, and a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 24 are formed in the fitting portion 23. Female terminals 26 connected to the ends of the electric wires 25 are accommodated in these terminal accommodating chambers 24, and the electric wires 25 are pulled out from the rear ends of the housing body 22. A rubber stopper 27 attached to the electric wire 25 is fitted into the terminal accommodating chamber 24 from the rear end side of the housing body 22. As a result, the terminal accommodating chamber 24 of the housing body 22 accommodating the female terminal 26 is stopped.

The female terminal 26 is formed of, for example, a conductive metal material such as copper or a copper alloy, and is crimped and connected to the electric wire 25. The female terminal 26 has an electrical connection portion 28 formed in a tubular shape.

An annular seal member 50 is attached to the base of the fitting portion 23 of the female housing 20. The sealing member 50 is made of, for example, a resin material such as rubber, and seals a joint portion with the male housing 70.

Further, a seal holding portion 29 is formed on the housing body 22 of the female housing 20. The seal holding portion 29 is formed in the central portion in the width direction in the upper portion of the housing main body 22, and projects forward in the fitting direction with the male housing 70 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the fitting direction). .. Then, a part of the seal member 50 mounted on the fitting portion 23 in the circumferential direction is locked and held by the seal holding portion 29.

The male housing 70 is formed of synthetic resin, and the connecting portion 71 is formed in a tubular shape. The male housing 70 is provided with a plurality of male terminals 77, and these male terminals 77 are arranged in a tubular connecting portion 71. The male terminal 77 is formed in a rod shape by, for example, a conductive metal material such as copper or a copper alloy.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the male housing 70. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the upper part of the connection portion 71 of the male housing 70.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the male housing 70 has a pair of guide ridges 72 and a protrusion 73 on the upper portion of the connection portion 71. The guide ridges 72 are formed at intervals along the fitting direction with the female housing 20 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the fitting direction). The protrusion 73 is formed at the center position in the width direction in the upper part of the connection portion 71, that is, between the pair of guide protrusions 72. The protruding portion 73 projects from the upper surface of the connecting portion 71, and a guide surface 74 gradually inclined upward toward the rear end side of the male housing 70 is formed on the front side in the fitting direction.

Further, in the male housing 70, a pair of fulcrum protrusions 75 are formed on the upper portion of the connecting portion 71. These fulcrum protrusions 75 are formed in the vicinity of the tip end portion of the connecting portion 71, and are arranged at intervals from each other in the width direction. These fulcrum protrusions 75 have a top portion 75a formed of a flat surface.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the female housing 20. FIG. 6 is a front view of the female housing 20. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the female housing 20. 8A and 8B are views showing the lock mechanism 30, FIG. 8A is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 7, and FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the female housing 20 is provided with a lock mechanism 30 on the upper portion of the housing body 22. The lock mechanism 30 has a lock arm 31 and a release arm 38.

The lock arm 31 has a pair of elastic arm portions 32 and a locking portion 36. As shown in FIG. 8A, the elastic arm portion 32 is formed in the shape of a cantilever support beam that is connected to the housing body 22 and extends forward in the fitting direction. The elastic arm portions 32 are arranged in parallel at intervals from each other. The front sides of these elastic arm portions 32 in the fitting direction are connected to each other. In the lock arm 31, the connecting portion of the elastic arm portion 32 connected to each other is the locking portion 36, and the locking portion 36 is engaged with and disengaged from the protrusion 73 formed in the male housing 70. ..

The release arm 38 has a pair of support arm portions 33 and an operation portion 34. The support arm portions 33 are provided on the outer sides of the pair of elastic arm portions 32, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8B, the support arm portion 33 has an end portion on the front side in the fitting direction connected to the elastic arm portion 32 and extends to the rear side in the fitting direction. In the support arm portion 33, the rear end portions on the side opposite to the side connected to the elastic arm portion 32 are connected to each other, and this connecting portion serves as the operation portion 34.

The operating portion 34 of the release arm 38 has an inclined surface 35 that inclines upward toward the rear end in a cross-sectional view. The inclined surface 35 and the surface 33a of the support arm portion 33 are formed in a smoothly curved arc shape.

Further, each support arm portion 33 of the release arm 38 is formed with a fulcrum protrusion 37 projecting toward the fitting portion 23 of the housing main body 22. These fulcrum protrusions 37 are arranged on the front side in the fitting direction from the connecting portion of the elastic arm portion 32 with the housing main body 22, and are provided within the fitting range with the male housing 70 in the fitting direction. ing. These fulcrum protrusions 37 have a top portion 37a formed of a flat surface.

A pair of protective walls 41 are provided on both sides of the lock mechanism 30. These protective walls 41 are erected on the upper part of the housing main body 22, and the lock mechanism 30 is protected by being surrounded on the side by the protective wall 41. A beam portion 42 is provided on the front side of the protective wall 41 in the fitting direction. Both ends of the beam portion 42 are connected to the protective wall 41, and the beam portion 42 is arranged with a gap from the housing main body 22.

Next, a case where the female housing 20 is fitted and detached from the male housing 70 will be described.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the movement of the lock mechanism 30 when the male housing 70 and the female housing 20 are separated from each other, and FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b) are views of the male housing 70 and the female housing 20. It is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the BB cross section of FIG. 7 of the fitting portion.

The fitting portion 23 is fitted so that the hood portion 21 of the female housing 20 is brought close to the connecting portion 71 of the male housing 70. Then, the lock mechanism 30 is guided by the guide ridge 72 of the male housing 70, and the locking portion 36 of the lock arm 31 of the female housing 20 comes into contact with the guide surface 74 of the protrusion 73 of the male housing 70.

When the female housing 20 is pushed into the male housing 70, the locking portion 36 of the lock arm 31 that has been in contact with the guide surface 74 of the protrusion 73 slides along the guide surface 74 and begins to ride on the lock arm 31. The elastic arm portion 32 of the housing is elastically deformed. As a result, the support arm portion 33 of the release arm 38 swings by being displaced in the direction in which the front end side connected to the elastic arm portion 32 is separated from the housing main body 22.

By further pushing the female housing 20 against the male housing 70, when the locking portion 36 gets over the protrusion 73, the elastic arm portion 32 that has been elastically deformed is restored and the support arm portion 33 swings in the opposite direction. Then, the locking portion 36 enters the front side of the protruding portion 73 in the fitting direction and is locked. As a result, the female housing 20 is locked to the male housing 70 in a fitted state.

In this mating state, the connecting portion 71 of the male housing 70 is in close contact with the sealing member 50 mounted on the fitting portion 23 of the female housing 20, and the joint portion between the male housing 70 and the female housing 20 is sealed. Then, in this mated state, the male terminal 77 is inserted into the electrical connection portion 28 of the female terminal 26, and the female terminal 26 and the male terminal 77 are electrically connected.

When the female housing 20 is fitted to the male housing 70, the fulcrum protrusion 37 of the female housing 20 and the fulcrum protrusion 75 of the male housing 70 are positioned at the same position in the fitting direction, as shown in FIG. 9A. Arranged and opposed to each other.

In order to separate the female housing 20 from the male housing 70 from this mated state, the operation portion 34 provided at the rear end of the support arm portion 33 of the release arm 38 is pressed toward the housing body 22 side.

As shown in FIG. 9B, this pressing pushes down the operating portion 34, so that the support arm portion 33 swings. At this time, the support arm portions 33 are brought into contact with the top portions 37a, 75a of the fulcrum protrusions 37, 75 arranged at positions facing each other. As a result, the support arm portion 33 swings with the contact points of the fulcrum protrusions 37 and 75, whose top portions 37a and 75a are in contact with each other, as the fulcrum F.

As a result, the locking portion 36 of the lock arm 31 is displaced in the direction away from the housing main body 22, the locking portion 36 is released from the protrusion 73, and the female housing 20 is released from the male housing 70. To.

Here, a reference example will be described.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the BB cross section of FIG. 7 of the female housing according to the reference example.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the reference example, the female housing 20 has a fulcrum protrusion 39 that can come into contact with the outer surface 22a of the housing body 22.

In this reference example, when the operation portion 34 of the release arm 38 is pressed toward the housing body 22, the fulcrum projection 39 of the support arm portion 33 comes into contact with the outer surface 22a of the housing body 22. When the operation portion 34 is further pressed from this state, the support arm portion 33 further swings with the contact point between the fulcrum protrusion 39 and the outer surface 22a of the housing body 22 as the fulcrum F. As a result, the locking portion 36 of the lock arm 31 is displaced in the direction away from the housing main body 22, and the locking portion 36 is released from the protrusion 73.

As described above, in the case of the reference example, since the support arm portion 33 swings with the contact point of the fulcrum protrusion 39 with respect to the outer surface 22a of the housing body 22 as the fulcrum F, the locking portion 36 with respect to the protrusion 73 of the male housing 70. Can be easily released by the principle of leverage.

However, in this reference example, since the distance L between the action point S and the fulcrum F in the operation unit 34 is small, it is difficult to reduce the pressing force required for swinging the support arm unit 33.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the operating portion 34 provided on the support arm portion 33 of the release arm 38 is pushed down in a state where the female housing 20 and the male housing 70 are fitted to each other, the support arm portion 33 becomes. It swings with the contact points of the fulcrum protrusions 37 and 75 as the fulcrum F.

Since the fulcrum F is provided at a position facing the connection portion 71 of the male housing 70 and the support arm portion 33, the support arm portion 33 is provided with the fulcrum protrusion 39 capable of contacting the housing body 22 as in the reference example. As compared with the case where the contact point with the housing body 22 is the fulcrum point F, the distance L from the operation unit 34, which is the point of action S, to the fulcrum point F can be lengthened to increase the moment of force (FIG. 9). See (a)). Therefore, it is possible to enhance the effect of reducing the pressing force on the operating portion 34, which is required for swinging the support arm portion 33. This makes it possible to reduce the burden on the fingers of the operator who unlocks the plurality of connectors 10. Further, for example, the fulcrum F can be provided without being restricted because there is a portion such as a seal holding portion 29 that holds the seal member 50.

Further, in the reference example, a step portion 34a is formed in the operation portion 34 in order to improve the catching of the finger during the operation. However, by forming the step portion 34a, a reaction force is locally applied from the step portion 34a to the finger pressing the operation portion 34. Therefore, if the worker repeatedly performs the detachment work, the finger may feel pain.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the operation unit 34 has an inclined surface 35 that inclines upward toward the rear end in a cross-sectional view. Therefore, when the operation unit 34 is pressed, the force from the finger can be received without waste on the inclined surface 35 without locally applying a reaction force to the finger, and the force from the finger can be smoothly supported by the arm. It can be communicated to the part 33. It is preferable that the inclined surface 35 is parallel to the fitting direction or is slightly inclined upward toward the rear end when the operating portion 34 is pressed.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the inclined surface 35 of the operation portion 34 and the surface 33a of the support arm portion 33 are formed in an arc shape that smoothly curves, the irritation to the finger pressing the operation portion 34 is further suppressed. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to suppress finger pain that occurs when the detachment work is repeated.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified, improved, and the like. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

For example, in the above embodiment, the fulcrum protrusions 37 and 75 are provided at the connection portion 71 of the support arm portion 33 and the male housing 70, but as shown in FIG. 11A, the male housing 70 is provided only on the support arm portion 33. A fulcrum protrusion 37 that comes into contact with the connecting portion 71 may be provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, a fulcrum protrusion 75 that abuts on the support arm portion 33 may be provided only on the connecting portion 71 of the male housing 70. In these cases as well, since the position of the fulcrum F is separated from the point of action S, the operating force required for unlocking can be reduced.

Here, the features of the connector according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention are briefly summarized and listed below [1] to [4], respectively.
[1] A second housing (female housing 20) having a housing body (22) and a second housing (71) having a connecting portion (71) fitted with the housing body (22) of the first housing (female housing 20). A connector (10) comprising a housing (male housing 70).
The first housing (female housing 20) locks a protrusion (73) provided on the housing body (22) and formed on the connection portion (71) of the second housing (male housing 70). Has a lock mechanism (30) that locks
The lock mechanism (30)
A cantilever beam extending from the outer surface of the housing body (22) to the fitting side with the connecting portion (71) and having a locking portion (36) at the end portion engaged with and disengaged from the protruding portion (73). A lock arm (31) provided with an elastic arm portion (32)
It has a support arm portion (33) that is connected to the elastic arm portion (32) and extends to the side opposite to the fitting side with the connection portion (71), and is an end portion of the support arm portion (33). The release arm (38), which is the operation unit (34),
With
In a state where the first housing (female housing 20) and the second housing (male housing 70) are fitted to each other, the connecting portion (71) and the support arm portion (33) facing each other are placed at opposite positions. A connector characterized in that a fulcrum protrusion (37,75) is formed on at least one of them.
[2] The connector according to [1], wherein the operation unit (34) has an inclined surface (35) that inclines upward toward the rear end.
[3] The inclined surface (35) of the operation portion (34) and the surface (33a) of the support arm portion (33) are formed in an arc shape in which they are smoothly connected to each other [2]. Described connector.

10 Connector 20 Female housing (first housing)
21 Hood part 22 Housing body 22a Outer surface 23 Fitting part 24 Terminal storage chamber 25 Electric wire 26 Female terminal 27 Rubber stopper 28 Electrical connection part 29 Seal holding part 30 Lock mechanism 31 Lock arm 32 Elastic arm part 33 Support arm part 33a Surface 34 Operation Part 34a Step part 35 Inclined surface 36 Locking part 37 Supporting point protrusion 37a Top part 38 Release arm 39 Supporting point protrusion 41 Protective wall 42 Beam part 50 Sealing member 70 Male housing (second housing)
71 Connection 72 Guide ridge 73 Protrusion 74 Guide surface 75 Abutment protrusion 75a Top 77 Male terminal

Claims (3)

A connector comprising a first housing having a housing body and a second housing having a connection portion fitted to the housing body of the first housing.
The first housing has a lock mechanism provided on the housing body and locks and locks a protrusion formed on the connection portion of the second housing.
The lock mechanism is
A lock arm having a cantilever-shaped elastic arm portion extending from the outer surface of the housing body to the fitting side with the connecting portion and having a locking portion engaged with and disengaged from the protrusion at the end.
A release arm that has a support arm portion that is connected to the elastic arm portion and extends to the side opposite to the fitting side with the connection portion, and the end portion of the support arm portion is an operation portion.
With
With the first housing and the second housing fitted to each other, fulcrum protrusions are formed on at least one of the connecting portions and the support arm portions facing each other.
A connector that features that. The operating portion has an inclined surface that inclines upward toward the rear end.
The connector according to claim 1. It is formed in an arc shape in which the inclined surface of the operating portion and the surface of the supporting arm portion are smoothly connected.
2. The connector according to claim 2.

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